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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 17:43:49
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Well met, all,
If you haven't already read the reviews by this man, you might be missing out. His reviews tend to be well constructed, balanced, well conceived, and insightful -- not just the "thumbs up, thumbs down" sort of reviews you occasionally run into, and without any of the prejudice against shared-world novel lines that some reviewers occasionally (ok, often) share.
He has a particular taste for Eberron (ah! the dreaded E-word!) and, notably, the Realms.
He just launched a site collecting the many, many reviews he's posted on Amazon thus far, and he reads and reviews voraciously.
http://beezermn.laethyn.com/
As for the man himself, he's genuinely a thoughtful, helpful guy, and the point of his reviewing is to help people find books they'll enjoy, not to assuage his own ego. He's a shrink, but I don't hold that against him. 
Cheers
P.S. I should note that he's posted a review of Depths of Madness, but that isn't the reason for this post. I simply enjoy his reviews, and I just thought I'd do my part to spread the word about his new site. 
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Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 18:05:40
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| Nice site, but the man is merciless with Ed's latest novel ! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 18:57:57
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I've read some of his reviews, and I'd agree that he's thoughtful, even if I often disagree with them. For example, he loved the Final Gate and didn't care for Swords of Eveningstar...and I'm the exact opposite.
I'll definitely check out (and perhaps bookmark) the site, though. I appreciate reviews where the reviewer explains WHY he/she feels positive/negative/neutral about a book. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 20:28:57
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I should clarify that I don't necessarily *agree* with what he says, only that I think his reviews are very readable and can be quite helpful. As Lyrna puts it, he says "why" he likes or doesn't like something, rather than just whether he does.
Also, Beezer tends not to like Ed's style. Ironic, linking on an FR site, but I just thought it might be interesting to check out.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 22:08:50
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This is the guy who, as a moderator at the rasalvatore.com boards, went into personal insults when I criticized his attempt to review Swords of Eveningstar.
Do you think these are good reviews, Erik? They barely mention prose, worldbuilding, themes, or much about characters beyond whether he likes them. |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 23:02:37
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The reviews that I have read (which is, I admit, not all) have been fairly solid.
I don't intend to defend a position on them either way -- I'm just setting out the link so people have a chance to check them out. I trust folks will decide for themselves whether they like the reviews.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2007 : 23:05:36
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| One thing that I will say about reading his reviews, or any site like this. He is a fairly well spoken, well expressed guy who actually likes the fantasy genre. Its interesting to read his reviews and takes on books that I have read. I always think its interesting how I can read someone's opinion on a given book, and find my views very close to theirs, and then read a reveiw of another book, and have a very different view of that particular work. Just pointing out that I find it interesting the full range of opinions that can come from people even with a similar mindset and interest in a given genre. |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 16:12:42
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| Thanks for the link Erik. I hadn't seen this site yet. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 16:54:01
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I've only read a few and didn't think anything special, until I read his review of A Song of Fire and Ice, which in my opinion is a good review on what has often degenerated into a 'thumbs up or thumbs down' review of the book.
I don't find much need for reviews, especially as most of my recommendations come from other scribes at candlekeep, but it's handy to have in case I find some rare book I've never heard of cheap on ebay and want to know what it's like
Thanks for sharing the link, even if the colour scheme does mean I'm seeing shadow lines in front of my eyes now |
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 23:21:54
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I'm a sucker for reviews, even if I'll quite happily take a lot of them with a pinch of salt. It takes time to get a good handle on which reviewers or publications have similar tastes to my own so I will trust them more often than not. Often I'll go with a review (or more likely a few reviews) of something, though sometimes I'll just purchase blindly, indeed almost randomly in a strange lapse into compulsive buying. Er, anyway...
The reviews are quite a good read, though I don't necessarily agree with them all. I like the fact he takes the time to explain what was good or bad, rather than just saying he liked it or not, which is frankly of no help to anyone, and is something one tends to come across a lot in online reviews. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2007 : 02:22:39
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| Are there other review sites for FR and WotC books ? I'm finding these reviews from Beezer at great variance from my own experience with the same books. |
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wwwwwww
Learned Scribe
116 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2007 : 02:04:10
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| I quite like Beezer's reviews. I've always felt he does a fine job of explaining why (or why not) he likes/dislikes a particular book. One doesn't necessarily have to agree with him to still appreciate his opinion. Compared to many other reviewers, I find him much more helpful. |
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BeezerMN
Acolyte
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 13 Mar 2007 : 04:28:13
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Thanks for the plug, Erik. It's nice to know people have taken an interest in what I am doing. I created the site to help me, help people find books they will enjoy. Many review sites out there today shun "shared world" which I believe is a mistake. I have read many shared world novels that I have enjoyed.
At any rate, I hope some people find the site useful and get some benefit out of it. If anyone has any questions feel free to drop me a line. |
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laethyn
Acolyte
USA
30 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2007 : 02:19:22
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I'd like to take some of the blame for any bad spelling errors on Beezer's review site. As I was moving the reviews from messageboard posts to the database, I was getting sloppy, and lazy, and quite frankly, sick of reading reviews (not to mention sick of seeing that darned Beezer guys name! lol). I will also use an excuse that I had a temp of 103 during most of the build process. :)
As for the colors of the site, I did that on purpose. To get rid of them, you just have to stay on his site and remain there (ahem ... purchasing books ...)
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2007 : 02:40:46
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quote:
Originally posted by wwwwwww
I've always felt he does a fine job of explaining why (or why not) he likes/dislikes a particular book.
From what I've read, I disagree. |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2007 : 12:18:33
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quote:
Originally posted by laethyn
As for the colors of the site, I did that on purpose. To get rid of them, you just have to stay on his site and remain there (ahem ... purchasing books ...)
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Edited by - Kaladorm on 26 Mar 2007 12:19:32 |
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A site for some solid Realms reviews
